DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 6, the recitation of “a light scanning apparatus” in line 2 refers to a previously recited limitation.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokoi et al. (US 2024/0168402 A1) in view of Lim et al. (US 2013/0033557 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yokoi et al. teach a light scanning apparatus (scanning optical device 1; Figs 1-8), comprising:
a board having a first surface and a second surface on both sides in a thickness direction (circuit board 100; Figs 1-3 and 5-8);
a light-emitting module that is mounted on the board and outputs light to a side of the first surface (semiconductor lasers 10; Figs 1-3, 5 and 8);
a driver circuit that is mounted on the board and drives the light-emitting module (first laser driver 101 and second laser driver 102; Figs 5-6); and
an optical sensor that is mounted on the board and receives, from the side of the first surface, scanning light from the light-emitting module as a light source (the first optical sensor 108 has a detection surface 108A that faces the frame F; [0055]; the second optical sensor 109 has a detection surface 109A that faces the frame F; [0062]; Figs 7-8).
Further regarding claim 1, Yokoi et al. do not teach a control circuit that controls the driver circuit, wherein the board has a connection pad that electrically connects the optical sensor on the second surface.
Further regarding claim 1, Lim et al. teach a control circuit that controls a driver circuit (meanwhile, an electronic component 166 to control driving of the light source 110 and the electronic component 165 to process the horizontal synchronization signal generated by the beam detecting sensor 150 together may be mounted on the first surface 160a of the circuit board 160; [0053]; Figs 1-2; the electronic component 165 to control timing of the driving of the light source 110 by the electronic component 166), and a board has a connection pad that electrically connects an optical sensor on a second surface (the through-hole 160c is formed to be smaller than an area where the beam detecting sensor 150 is mounted, so that terminals of the beam detecting sensor 150 are not exposed to the light beam L; [0049]; the circuit board 160 on which the beam detecting sensor 150 is mounted may further include an electronic component 165 to process the horizontal synchronization signal generated by the beam detecting sensor 150; [0052]; FIGs. 1-2; areas where the terminals are mounted are pads for electrical connection to the electronic component 165) for the purpose of synchronizing emission from the light-emitting module.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a control circuit that controls the driver circuit, wherein the board has a connection pad that electrically connects the optical sensor on the second surface, as taught by Lim et al., into Yokoi et al. for the purpose of synchronizing emission from the light-emitting module.
Regarding claim 2, Yokoi et al. do not teach wherein the board has a through-hole that extends from the first surface to the second surface, and the optical sensor that is mounted on a side of the second surface of the board and receives the scanning light that enters the through-hole from the side of the first surface.
Further regarding claim 2, Lim et al. teach the board has a through-hole that extends from the first surface to the second surface, and the optical sensor that is mounted on a side of the second surface of the board and receives the scanning light that enters the through-hole from the side of the first surface (the through-hole 160c is formed to be smaller than an area where the beam detecting sensor 150 is mounted, so that terminals of the beam detecting sensor 150 are not exposed to the light beam L; [0049]; Figs 1-2) for the purpose of preventing the terminals of the sensor from being exposed to the light beam.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the board has a through-hole that extends from the first surface to the second surface, and the optical sensor that is mounted on a side of the second surface of the board and receives the scanning light that enters the through-hole from the side of the first surface, as taught by Lim et al., into Yokoi et al. for the purpose of preventing the terminals of the sensor from being exposed to the light beam.
Regarding claim 3, Yokoi et al. teach wherein the light-emitting module serving as a light source of the scanning light is located in a position lower than the optical sensor that receives the scanning light in a longitudinal direction of the board (the lead holes 107 for the semiconductor laser 10 are located in a position lower than the first optical sensor 108 and the second optical sensor 109 in the first direction; Figs 6-8).
Regarding claim 4, Yokoi et al. teach wherein the light-emitting module and the driver circuit comprise a plurality of light-emitting modules and a plurality of driver circuits respectively mounted on the board to correspond to scanning light for a plurality of colors (the semiconductor lasers 10 include the two first semiconductor lasers 10Y and 10M respectively corresponding to yellow and magenta, and the two second semiconductor lasers 10C and 10K respectively corresponding to cyan and black; [0022]; FIG. 1; the first laser driver 101 and the second laser driver 102 function to drive the semiconductor lasers 10; [0050]; FIG. 5).
Regarding claim 6, Yokoi et al. teach an image forming apparatus, comprising: the light scanning apparatus; and an image carrier on which a latent image is formed by a light beam output from the light scanning apparatus (the image-forming apparatus includes four photosensitive drums 200; [0016]; toner images in colors different from one another are formed on the respective photosensitive drums 200; [0020]; FIG. 4).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yokoi et al. (US 2024/0168402 A1) as modified by Lim et al. (US 2013/0033557 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sawamoto (US 2013/0147890 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Yokoi et al. as modified by Lim et al. do not teach wherein the light-emitting module is a multi-beam structure with two or more light-emitting elements.
Further regarding claim 5, Sawamoto teaches a light-emitting module is a multi-beam structure with two or more light-emitting elements (four laser beams LB-1 to LB-4 are emitted from the LDs 31 to 34 of the laser light source 30 toward the polygon mirror 41; [0034]; FIG. 3) for the purpose of writing multiple scan lines in the same scanning by the polygon mirror.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein the light-emitting module is a multi-beam structure with two or more light-emitting elements, as taught by Sawamoto, into Yokoi et al. as modified by Lim et al. for the purpose of writing multiple scan lines in the same scanning by the polygon mirror.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENDRICK X LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-3798. The examiner can normally be reached MWFSa 10am-8pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
21 September 2026
/KENDRICK X LIU/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/DOUGLAS X RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
Prosecution Insights